rgu creating a new north
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Creating a new north: a vision for the region’s cultural future
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list of contributors:
Professor Paul Harris (Convenor)
Head of Gray’s School of Art
Dr Sarah Buckler
School of Applied Social Studies
Dr Simon Burnett
Department of Information Management
Dr Duncan Cockburn
Director of Planning and Policy Development
Professor Anne Douglas
Gray’s School of Art
Jack Keenan
Department of Communications, Media and Marketing
Professor David Maclean
Head of Scot Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment
Michael McCall
Director of Finance
Jonathan Price
Research Student, Gray’s School of Art
Professor Peter Reid
Head of the Department of Information Management
Dr Graeme Roberts
Chair of Aberdeen Performing Arts
Jo Royle
Head of the Department of Communications, Media Marketing
Professor Peter Stollery
Chair of the Sound Festival
Dr Daniel Turner
Department of Communications, Media and MarketingKaye Bonnar
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Creating a new north: a vision for the region’s cultural future
Foreword by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski 5
Introduction 7
Section 1:
Culture and quality of life 8
Section 2:
Developing a cultural strategy for the region 11
Section 3:
Leadership, facilitation and engagement 15
Section 4:
Encouraging graduate and practitioner retention, 16
and contribution to the economy
Section 5:
Developing sustainable funding 19
Conclusion and summary of recommendations 20
4
Katie Bennet
5
Foreword by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Robert Gordon University
From the very earliest days of higher education history, universities have been centres of cultural
engagement and development. Towns and cities grew around higher learning establishments, and the
scholarship nurtured in the universities often provided the roots for local arts and culture. That is still
largely true today: almost every city that has a major cultural offering also has world-class universities.
It is my view, as Principal of Robert Gordon University, that this institution has a special relationship with
its city and its region, and that it must give expression to this through its contribution to local culture and
through its leadership in debates about how that culture and creativity can be further enriched. It was with
this in mind that I established the working group that has produced this very valuable report.
It is my hope that the assessment of our cultural future set out in this report, and the recommendations made
therein, will provide a valuable contribution to the future of the North-East of Scotland more generally.
I am most grateful to Professor Paul Harris and to the team which produced this report. Moreover, on behalf
of RGU I can give an undertaking that we will continue to work with the community of the North-East and
with all other key stakeholders to ensure that together we can indeed create a new North.
Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Robert Gordon University
6Ade Adesina
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Introduction
Over the last two decades significant interest has been shown by academics and policy-makers alike in ideas of place and in what makes particular places attractive. At the same time it has been recognised (certainly in the UK but also in the rest of the ‘western’ world) that creative industries have the potential to stimulate economic regeneration. Numerous cities can point to the economic effect of their creative industries: Bristol can lay claim to the production of world-leading nature programmes and a plethora of new media companies, and Newcastle/Gateshead can boast the Baltic and the Sage with their national reputations. Closer to Aberdeen, Dundee’s recognition of the economic value of culture and the creative industries has created a ‘multiplier’ effect, which has attracted the V&A to the city and has increased the value of their flagship waterfront development from £270 million to over £1 billion.
This report makes reference to a number of specific projects and
centres and does so for illustrative purposes only. In this overview it is
not possible to mention all the many, varied activities that make up the
cultural offering of our region and therefore in including or excluding
particular projects or centres no comment as to contribution to the
region’s cultural vibrancy should be inferred. But it is clear that the
North-East of Scotland has much going for it: a strong economy and
a good quality of life. However this report will suggest that one of the
hidden gems of the North-East is its distinct cultural heritage, which
can and should be used to build a more coherent and vibrant cultural
life for the region. In this context it is important to build on the region’s
existing strengths and make them better known and supported within
the region and further afield. It is also important to develop new
ambitious projects and offerings for the region.
One significant difference between the three cities referred to above
and the North-East of Scotland is the latter’s significant economic
strength deriving from the oil and gas sector. Yet, notwithstanding
this economic strength, in recent years there has been a considerable
amount of public investment in what has been termed ‘place-
making’: a means of articulating a sense of place to give meaning to
the communities that live, work or interact with that place, as well
as a means of describing that place’s uniqueness to those outside.
At its core is the idea that the culture of a place is as important to its
success as its economic strength. To illustrate this point, we can all
think of many places which are far from successful economically but
still retain a sense of character and purpose that binds a vibrant and
resilient community together; just as we can all think of places that are
economically successful but soulless.
Robert Gordon University has previously published its ideas on the
regeneration of Aberdeen city centre – Regenerating Aberdeen: a
vision for a thriving and vibrant city centre. This present report draws
out and develops some of its themes, but is more focussed on the
creative economy and its wider application, and on its impact on the
whole region. Placemaking activities, when done effectively, are not
an end in themselves, but become the enablers of future drivers for
economic growth, cultural resilience and enhancement, and increased
quality of life.
The region may not need to consider its cultural or creative industries
as a means of economic regeneration at this current time (although
this may begin to look different after another decade or so); however
it may wish to consider the role that these industries will have in
place-making activities across the region and in making the region an
attractive place for relocation and investment. Because of this, the
cultural strategy of the region is not a fringe activity but should be
developed by the public and private sectors, and embedded across
all regional priorities. This could potentially be achieved through
the adoption of a ’cultural charter’, which could engage the relevant
stakeholders and establish an understanding between them of how to
achieve the region’s objectives.
Of course a ‘cultural strategy’ can mean a number of things. It can
be a reference to a way of life in relation to place, climate and other
human beings; it can be a reference more narrowly to the ‘arts’;
or it could even be presented as a form of opposition to industry.
This report considers the goal to be that of enhancing the way the
arts and creative industries can join with wider industry and other
groups in establishing a vibrant and enriched society for all. This
will both acknowledge the existing heritage and reputation of this
region, as well as our future story and a sense of belonging. What
we present here is intended as a basis for a cultural strategy that
informs and drives our creative economy and enriches the society
in which it is found.
In this way, we consider industry and culture to be interdependent
and equal . It is important also to acknowledge the important role of
research across the arts, design, entrepreneurship, and cultural and
artistic leadership in examining, substantiating and challenging any
future strategy. This research is already providing a considerable
cultural contribution to the region, as much of it has been jointly
developed with regional cultural and business partners and is already
disseminated internationally.
Cultural research itself is also important in allowing us to imagine
a future that is well informed, responsive and responsible across
different social and business groupings and interests, making
judgements in relation to what can be interesting, possible, or even
radical, or indeed not relevant.
An appropriate cultural strategy has the potential to be one of the
key elements that will assist the economic growth of the region
through increasing the quality of life. Of course addressing the need
for a vibrant cultural scene in the region will also have the benefit of
developing a larger creative and cultural economic sector, which in
turn may also mitigate the impact of a future decline in the economic
contribution of the oil and gas sector.
In our vision of the future in twenty, thirty, or forty years, the
hallmarks of our region will be:
• A place where cultural graduates see opportunities to
pursue and develop a rewarding career without having to
leave for another place because our region has –
• A sense of being at the centre of things, not at the
periphery or on the edge of something more exciting
because the region’s cultural producers have –
• A range of places, activities, programmes and projects that
nurture creative artists and performers who have stepped
on to an international stage who have articulated –
• A coherent narrative of what the North-East of Scotland is
and what it has to offer the world in its own right
stimulating interest in the region and creating –
• A place where individuals from outside the region want
to come, whether for work, study, retirement or in their
leisure time.
This is our new north.
What follows is our attempt to consider the major elements that our region needs to consider and address in order to achieve this vision.
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Section 1: Culture and quality of life
The North-East of Scotland receives and benefits from high quality of life ratings. Mostly these rankings rely upon excellent employment opportunities, high wages, access to green spaces and good educational opportunities. Increasingly, measures of quality of life are also seen as important, including indicators of wellbeing, happiness and confidence. This has led to attempts to capture metrics associated with health, social and cultural indicators.
Despite positive rankings in quality of life reports, there is increasing evidence that the region is struggling to attract talent to meet the requirements of the oil and gas sector. This has led to competition between companies to ‘poach’ the best talent, driving up wage levels, which in turn could lead to the costs of continued exploitation of some oil and gas fields in the north sea becoming uneconomic. This report contends that the cultural and creative industries can play a role in making the region a more attractive place. Cultural provision is a key dimension determining quality of life. Therefore a vibrant cultural scene will assist in retaining talent and attracting new talent to the region.
• Stavanger is well known for being European Capital of
Culture in 2008, but unlike other recipients of the title
(e.g. Glasgow and Liverpool) the city was not in urgent need
of regeneration. The approach of Stavanger very much
values culture and has evolved both a long term planning
approach and a delivery method based on wide partnership
across business, the public sector and academia. The City of
Culture programme was pursued with an explicit focus on
regional development and on improving the profile and image
of the city, based on the recognition that a vibrant cultural
scene is good for the city’s image and as a consequence, good
for business.
• In Houston, there is evidence of strong civic support for the
cultural sector, in particular through city-led organisations
such as the Houston Arts Alliance and the City of Houston
Cultural Affairs Office. Funding for the arts in the city
comes directly from a hotel occupancy tax, and links to the
business community are actively encouraged through the Arts
and Business Council of Houston.
• In Perth (Australia), the creative industries account for just
over 5% of total employment in the city, and there is strong
civic and state interest in supporting culture, particularly as
part of urban renewal schemes. Most notable amongst these
is the Perth Cultural Centre, which is a major cultural quarter
and urban renewal project that has been in continuous
development since 2004.
• Calgary has taken a measured and structured approach
starting with detailed research into the cultural assets of
the city followed by a plan of substantial investment in
the cultural infrastructure. The Calgary Arts Development
Agency provides funding for arts organisations and the city
was named a capital of culture in Canada in 2012.
In addition to this infrastructure, the region hosts a number of annual
festivals, including Sound (Scotland’s Festival of New Music); the
Aberdeen International Youth Festival; the Traditional Boat Festival
at Portsoy; and Speyfest at Fochabers (a traditional music festival).
Equally important is the contribution made to the cultural life of the
region by voluntary organisations. This not only includes various local
heritage societies that add greatly to individual communities’ sense of
self and connection with their past, but also organisations responsible
for organising events, like North-East Open Studios every September,
and Doors Open Day in the same month.
There is more that could be done to present these cultural activities
– both mainstream and fringe – within the official portals established
to promote the City and the region. Equally the cultural and creative
sector could be better at collective self-articulation of its activity. There
is also a role for the local press to play in highlighting the significant
‘fringe’ activities that currently take place across the region.
As is often the case, one of the difficulties that the region faces is
also one of its strengths. The city of Aberdeen has always had a
significant hinterland: indeed it has one of the largest hinterlands of
any city in Western Europe. The city tends therefore to dominate the
region within which it is located, which has had two effects relative to
place-making. The first is that many of the towns across the region,
particularly those closest to Aberdeen itself, have seen significant
housing developments in the last two decades. In many instances
this has seen the creation of ‘host’ and ‘migrant’ communities living
in towns which almost simultaneously, for other societal reasons,
have seen a decline in their ‘high street’. The other effect is that each
council has become more inclined to promote its own area, as distinct
from the region.
The region is not short of cultural venues or activities. Yet many of
these lack visibility within the region, let alone beyond it. Few of those
not run by the councils appear amongst the listings on the websites
of Visit Aberdeen or Why Aberdeen - a website designed to attract
individuals to live and work in the region. The events and festivals
listed on the AberdeenInvestLiveVisit website include a number of
those that take place within the city, but not those undertaken by arts
and cultural organisations, or many of the activities funded by the City
Council’s Vibrant Aberdeen funding. Given that the local councils are
not in a position to fund all of the cultural infrastructure of the region,
it is disappointing that there is such inadequate recognition of the
significant role of independent organisations. This may lead those
independent organisations to feel that the local councils wish to be in
control. When one considers that other global oil and gas cities appear
to have a better articulation of their own cultural offering, then the
significance of this issue perhaps becomes clearer.
The recent EKOS report, commissioned by Robert Gordon University,
Creative Industries in North East Scotland, stated that ‘the cultural
sector in the region is strong at the grass roots end, but less so the
higher up the scale it goes. There is no producing theatre, and no
signature events or assets, although the revitalised art gallery might
provide an opportunity to address this. For now, this not only impacts
on the region’s cultural offer but also its offer to visitors. This feels like
a missed opportunity for a city of Aberdeen’s scale and history.’
The report discusses how other global energy cities have repositioned
their own cultural offers. The EKOS report makes clear the significant
strategic investment that has been provided to the cultural economy
by public and private sources of income and support. The report
provides some details on four energy cities:
When one remembers that three of these four cities have no
significant cultural heritage that survives from before colonisation
in the nineteenth century, then it becomes clear that these cities
have developed a coherent and vibrant cultural scene without the
advantage of having a cultural narrative that can draw and build upon
centuries of heritage and tradition.
It is worth emphasising the richness of the region’s cultural facilities. In
the last year both Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council
have undertaken cultural mapping exercises that have used different
approaches to articulate the facilities currently provided within the
region. Aberdeenshire Council commissioned François Matarasso to
produce Pinning Stones: culture and community in Aberdeenshire,
and Aberdeen City Council commissioned BOP to undertake a cultural
mapping exercise.
Within Aberdeen, the city possesses significant cultural infrastructure,
including numerous venues (His Majesty’s Theatre, the Music Hall,
the Art Gallery, the Lemon Tree and the Aberdeen Arts Centre to
name but the most significant). Aberdeen is also host to a number
of arts organisations, including Peacock Visual Arts and CityMoves
(a dance company). In addition to this both universities contribute a
significant element to the cultural life of the city through the provision
of degree programmes in the cultural and creative industries, and
through various student groups, including the University of Aberdeen
Symphony Orchestra and the 57’10 society at the Scott Sutherland
School at Robert Gordon University. In Aberdeenshire three arts
organisations stand out as making a significant contribution to the
cultural wellbeing of their communities: the Scottish Sculpture
Workshop at Lumsden; Woodend Barn at Banchory; and Deveron
Arts in Huntly.
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While all of the activities and organisations above do create a very
rich and vibrant landscape for the cultural life of the region, it can be
seen that other regions have identified and harnessed their assets in
a more significant way to promote placemaking, the raising of public
perceptions and external funding. If we are to realise the potential of
linking cultural strategy and quality of life, then the region needs to
think about the way in which the public and private sectors, as well
as independent cultural organisations, can work together to achieve
the ambitions of a cultural strategy for the region, including both
cultural practice and the potential of its natural and built assets. These
sectors must also work together if the region is to address some of the
structural funding issues that benefit other regions of Scotland to the
disadvantage of the North-East.
One case in point is the funding available from Creative Scotland, an
organisation that has a mission to support ‘the arts, screen and creative
industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives,
works or visits here’. Over the last four years (2009/10 to 2012/13)
Creative Scotland has disbursed some £300M worth of public money.
It is worth comparing investment in monetary terms and per head of
population by certain local government areas.
Local authority area Total investment Per head of population
Edinburgh £80,166,000 £41.00
Glasgow £74,441,000 £31.30
Dundee £12,738,000 £22.00
Highland £15,524,000 £17.50
Stirling £4,626,000 £12.80
Scottish Total £299,080,000
Scottish average £12.80
Perth and Kinross £7,454,000 £12.60
Aberdeen £5,150,000 £5.90
Aberdeenshire £5,100,000 £5.20
This pattern of comparatively less funding for the north-east is
replicated with other funds that might be used to support the region’s
cultural offering including Lottery Funding, Historical Scotland
grants and funding from Visit Scotland. They are also reflected in the
volume of funding that the region seeks and receives from Europe in
terms of InterREG and the European Media Progamme. The north-
east of Scotland has made no calls for InterREG funding for cultural
purposes, although Dundee has made significant use of these funds
to support the development of its cultural offering. Of the ¤9M
awarded to UK film, TV and animation organisations in its final year of
Media Programme funding (2012), Scotland secured only 5% of this,
comprising only three awards, none of which were based in the North-
East of Scotland.
In order to redress some of these missed funding opportunities,
the region needs to raise its ambitions with respect to exploiting
the opportunities presented by its rich cultural asset base. The next
section of this report aims therefore to discuss both that asset base
and our potential future ambition.
Alison McGregor
10
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Section 2: Developing a cultural strategy for the region
The North-East of Scotland is a region that encompasses at least three councils – Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council. Each has a different cultural strategy to guide its activities. Collectively, these cultural strategies should present opportunities to articulate and support the cultural narrative of the region as a whole. There are significant ways in which the articulation of the region’s cultural heritage, provenance and identity can assist the development of place-making. Both François Matarasso’s Pinning Stones and the City’s bid for UK City of Culture made attempts at articulating this. We would like to offer our own articulation of the region’s cultural narrative. In doing so, we recognise that there are dangers that some may find that this attempt at narrative misses out particular strands, while others may feel that it implies that any activity outwith its scope is not to be valued as regional. Our narrative does not seek to do this and is freely offered as the basis for an inclusive and open discussion, out of which we would hope to see the emergence of an amended narrative.
This brief statement attempts to explain how a distinctive and unique culture of the North-East of Scotland is shaped.
Ideas of the coast are present in differing guises along the various
settlements of the coastal route, which includes various fishing
settlements many of which are entered in the same way by steep
and sudden descents from the cliffs. South of Aberdeen these
settlements include Johnshaven, Gourdon, through Kinneff (where
the Scottish crown jewels where kept safe in the Cromwellian invasion
of Scotland), and the former artists’ community of Catterline, before
reaching the larger communities of Stonehaven and Aberdeen. North
of Aberdeen, the fishing villages include Collieston, Cruden Bay
(Port Errol), Sandhaven, Rosehearty, Pennan, Crovie, Gardenstown,
Portsoy and Cullen. Yet for a tourist this route appears not to be as
well developed as the Moray Firth coastal path or the Fife coastal
path, despite having more attractions relating to maritime heritage
along the way. These include the Scottish National Lighthouse
Museum (in Fraserburgh), the Arbuthnot Museum (in Peterhead) and
the Maritime Museum (in Aberdeen). Furthermore the harbours of
Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh all remain large and significant
on a European-scale. While these ports supply the oil and gas
installations offshore, they also host landing bases for the export of a
significant seafood industry. There are also a range of other attractions
dotted along the coast, including the Macduff Aquarium, Slains and
Dunnottar Castles and the nature reserve at Forvie, as well as four
RSPB reserves. It is worth noting that Portsoy hosts the Scottish
traditional boat festival and Banff the Coast arts festival annually.
The value of the coast as an attraction is seen by the reputation of
various beaches around the North-East for surfing. While sections
of a coastal pathway have been developed, it lacks the coherency of
the Moray Coastal path or the Fife Coastal path and certainly their
tourist or visitor infrastructures. If coast is an idea of importance for
the region, there is more that can be done to promote it as a feature of
the region’s cultural narrative. Perhaps the opportunity presented by
Energetica represents one vehicle for pursuing this notion.
The region’s cultural outputs have responded to and been shaped by:
• The region’s geography – which has positioned the region
along a fertile strip of land between mountains and the sea,
traditionally fusing together Highland and Lowland cultures.
• The region’s coast – which has defined a distinct way of life
for many generations of communities within the region and
forged both historic and contemporary linkages with the
wider world.
• The region’s natural resources – which through canny
stewardship the region has successively exploited to provide
it with its wealth from farming, whisky and fishing, through
textiles and paper mills and granite, to oil and gas exploration.
• The region’s latitude – which has shaped the region’s
relationship with light - producing long midsummer nights
and dark winter days, and a temperate climate sparing the
region from either bitterly cold winters or oppressively hot
summers.
• The region’s dialect – which continues to be a distinct form
of Scots, as well as one which has a long and rich tradition of
literary expression.
• The region’s internationalism – which recognises a myriad
of international links formed over centuries of exchange
through trade and education.
• The region’s knowledge prowess – which is expressed
through its exported history of educational provision, and
scientific and technological intellectual property.
This cultural heritage demonstrates the strong distinct cultural
narrative that the region possesses. In emphasising it, this report
does not see this heritage as a limiting factor for the future diversity of
cultural activity: far from it. This cultural heritage and its celebration
can act as a strong and powerful catalyst for contemporary art and
culture to respond and add to. Given the potential catalytic nature
of the region’s cultural heritage it is worth considering the extent to
which our cultural assets reflect the aspects outlined above.
We start with the geography of the region, as it has shaped so much of
our cultural identity. The North-East of Scotland is positioned between
a long strip of coastline and the mountains of the Cairngorms. Indeed
prior to the construction of the military road which was the precursor to
the A9, the only sensible way to access the Highlands of Scotland was
through the North-East of Scotland. As a consequence the North-East
was in some respects a cultural border zone between the dominant
‘Highland’ Gaelic culture and the ‘Lowland’ Scots culture. Indeed Hector
Boece, the first Principal of Aberdeen University, in his early sixteenth
century History of Scotland referred to there being three distinct
peoples of Scotland: Lowland, Highland and those who lived in the
North-East. Perhaps part of the region’s difficulty is that it has forgotten
this – it is part Highland, but part not; part Lowland, but part not. This
fusion of cultures needs further exploration and celebration as it is one
of the key cultural determinants of its distinctiveness. Perhaps we ought
to remember that while the region might be a destination in its own right
for the oil and gas sector, for other individuals, most notably tourists,
the region may wish to explore its status not merely as a destination but
as part of the route on to the Highlands or into the Cairngorms National
Park. With the developments of a national tourist route the North-East
of Scotland appears to have been by-passed save for a short (optional)
detour through the Cairngorms National Park. When one considers
there is more cultural heritage around the North-East than there is on
the A9, aiming to develop our cultural offering to demonstrate the
connection between Highland and Lowland is to use our geography to
our advantage.
The cultural assets associated with the region’s natural resources are
also significant. The region is home to a significant number of high-
quality artisan food producers, ranging from meat and salmon to
herbs and condiments, and from chocolate and shortbread to cooking
oils and whisky. Whisky is represented in the Speyside Whisky trail,
although it is frequently said that the region has yet to capitalise upon
this opportunity to the same extent as Islay has. Aden Country Park
is the region’s farming museum and is largest open air museum here.
Other centres that interpret the region’s farming heritage include the
Fordyce Joiner’s Workshop and the Sandhaven Meal Mill. Alongside
these significant resources are many local heritage centres such as
those at Alford, Braemar, Findhorn, Peterculter and Tarves, which
contain a wealth of resources and information on the development
of the rural communities in which they are located. The era of the
mills that first produced textiles and latterly paper are celebrated at
Johnstons of Elgin and at the (currently closed) Garlogie Mill Power
House. A walk along the banks of the River Don will allow one to
appreciate significant abandoned industrial infrastructure of the
textile mills. Aberdeen and many of the county towns of the region
could be said to be open air museums that celebrate the granite
architecture that has so defined the region’s built environment. More
recently granite has been celebrated through a Granite festival. The
exploration of the oil and gas industry can be seen at Aberdeen’s
Maritime Museum, but when compared to Stavanger’s equivalent
there may be more that it can do.
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Aberdeen and the rest of the North-East of Scotland have always had
significant links with international destinations, arising from direct
maritime links with northern Europe (and England) in medieval times.
The range of countries increased as the British Empire expanded
between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries through both military
expeditions and trade links. The Gordon Highlanders Museum and
Glover House both demonstrate these aspects. Less well known is the
fact that the photographic collection of George Wilson Washington,
as well as documenting the North-East of Scotland in the latter
nineteenth century, also documents many former British colonial
lands. Nor should it be forgotten that the impact of international
trade left some 20 Aberdeens across the world as well as countless
other towns and cities named after settlements of the North-East. In
the twentieth century, twinning movements developed, which still
allow for the fostering of international cultural exchange between
cities and towns. Today the oil and gas industry continues to facilitate
international linkages between the North-East and other parts of the
world. The presence of this international industry means that the
region has Scotland’s most diverse population by nationality. This in
itself provides a huge opportunity for cultural exchange, transmission
and creation, which is only marginally acknowledged.
The region’s knowledge prowess is most prominently represented by
the technology deployed in connection with the offshore oil and gas
industry. In this regard the Maritime Museum in Aberdeen provides
exhibitions on the industry, and there has been discussion regarding
the creation of a dedicated oil and gas museum in the region for a
number of years. However, the oil and gas industry is merely the
modern incarnation of a knowledge prowess, which as has been
explained in the previous paragraphs, meant that Aberdeen was able
to exploit and utilise its natural resources in a series of industries –
many of which have had international dimensions to them – through
the ages. One bedrock of this ability has been the universities:
Aberdeen is home to the fifth oldest university in the United Kingdom
and in this regard we should not forget the significant contribution to
medicine that the city has made, for example through being the birth-
place of the MRI scanner.
Arguably the region has sufficient infrastructure to support its needs,
particularly if it has no ambitions to host a national company. There
are already significant cultural assets within the region: the question
is whether or not these are sufficiently animated or their activity co-
ordinated so as to provide significant recognition either within or
outwith the region. The region has a range of cultural producers (as
articulated briefly in the section above) who could be encouraged to
align their activities to the themes articulated above. In many cases this
has already happened in the last few years within the region:
• Geography: Deveron Arts is working on a way-finding
project which seeks to connect Huntly to other settlements via
traditional highways;
• Coast: Theatre MODO undertook a procession with local
schoolchildren through Peterhead with a pirate theme;
• Natural resources: Woodend Barn recently ran a project
which explored the commercial farming of lavender around
Banchory in the twentieth century;
• Latitude: Peacock organised the recent Spectra Festival of
Light within Aberdeen;
• Dialect: the Robert Gordon University has recently published
a Doric Dictionary aimed at visitors attending the city’s
Offshore Europe conference and exhibition;
• Internationalism: the City Council provided travel bursaries
to artists to visit and study in Commonwealth countries as part
of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations; and
• Knowledge prowess: the University of Aberdeen’s May Fest
celebrates its intellectual contribution to the region and
wider society.
So there are numerous cultural heritage assets which could be better
harnessed to illustrate and articulate the region’s cultural identity. With
this in mind, it is surprising to note the extent of public money that
has been spent on ‘visitor attractions’ in the region in the last couple
of decades, that have failed. Would it have been better to place the
Buckie Drifter within a smaller coastal settlement and seek greater
community engagement in the running of the venue? Was it necessary
to build Archaeolink when one could have built a proper visitor centre
at Burghead? It might be argued that the region lacks a national centre
of any of these thematic threads. The Scottish Maritime Museum is
based within Glasgow and the Scottish Fisheries Museum is based
in Fife. The Scottish Museum of Rural Life is located in the central
belt. Nevertheless there may be opportunities to develop national
centres around the Oil and Gas or Energy sector or to turn one of the
industrial sites on the River Don into a national centre for mills. If such
plans were considered desirable, these would have to be conceived in
terms that placed them as truly national centres, not merely regional
ones. A similar scale of ambition might lead one to suggest that,
notwithstanding the significant controversy that it would generate,
Historic Scotland’s next significant restoration of scale following its
work on Stirling Castle should be to restore Elgin Cathedral to its
medieval heyday.
The region’s cultural inventory also include the landscape, light,
heritage, conflict, geography and historical industries of the region
and are expressed through strong historical prowess in storytelling,
music and songwriting, the visual arts, dance and theatre.
Consideration should be given to whether there are at least elements
of the three councils’ cultural strategies that should be shared. This
might allow for a clearer articulation of the region’s cultural heritage,
provenance and identity than is currently the case. It might allow
greater alignment of these strategies with the support and funding
that is provided by all three councils to support cultural activity within
their locality.
In their report EKOS reinforce this view, stating that ‘for all
constituencies, the goal is to work towards a more productive
partnership. The creative and cultural sector is not a panacea for future
economic diversification, improved quality of life or a vibrant visitor
economy. But it certainly has a role to play (any sector generating in
excess of £600M each year should not be ignored), and that role will
be significantly enhanced by a clear and shared vision, and effective
engagement across the region. That is both the opportunity and the
challenge for the North East.’
The region’s latitude has provided many cultural celebrations,
most notably mid-winter celebrations associated with fire. The
Stonehaven Fireballs are now rightly attracting significant attention
within Scotland, but the region boasts the Burning of the Clavie
at Burghead each January as well. More recently, Aberdeen has
hosted a festival of light which, organised by Peacock Visual Arts,
has involved the lighting up of various buildings within the city
centre. Light is also significant with regard to the lighthouses of
the region (Fraserburgh hosts the Scottish Lighthouse Museum).
It even features in Aberdeen’s city folk song, The Northern Lights
of Old Aberdeen, a reminder that in the era prior to the streetlight
Aberdeen was the furthest south that one could with reasonable
regularity observe the northern lights. By contrast, the summer
months provide long, sometimes endless daylight hours and crisp
unpolluted air, allowing for clarity of colours, enhancing epic
landscapes and reflecting vast expansive skies, all contributing to the
vibrancy and uniqueness of aspects of the region’s visual arts. These
unique attributes of northern latitude and its associated qualities
of summer light have not been effectively harnessed in either the
popular imagination nor any promotional activity. For example
Aberdeen’s promotion of the the Northern Lights cannot really be
compared with Iceland’s or the West Coast of Scotland’s promotion
of their summer sunlight.
The region’s distinct dialect has also influenced the oral and musical
culture of the region. In this regard the activities of the Elphinstone
Institute at the University of Aberdeen, as well as the North East
Folklore Archive held by Aberdeenshire Council, are important. There
is a strong tradition of song in the North-East which is embodied
in a number of nationally important collections, such as the Greig-
Duncan Collection. A number of festivals are held annually, such
as the Doric Festival, the Keith Festival run by the Traditional Music
and Song Association, the Buchan Heritage Society’s annual festival
in Strichen, and Speyfest held annually in May. The literature of the
region is represented most prominently by the Grassic Gibbon Centre
in Arbuthnott, but it is worth remembering that there are many other
authors whose poetry and fiction speaks to and of the region.
13
However, EKOS find in their report that ‘the lack of a signature event
or asset was again highlighted as a constraint on growth in cultural
tourism, despite widespread acknowledgement of the need to do
more in this area. With the development of the V&A in Dundee and
the ongoing pull of the central belt cities and the Highlands, there
is a real risk that Aberdeen and the surrounding area could fall off
the tourist map, leaving a visitor economy that is almost entirely
dependent on migrant labour for the energy industry.’ Clearly this
would indicate a pressing need to establish either an entity or a
convincing narrative that gives the region a distinctive offer in its
cultural reputation and identity.
In addition to articulating a regional cultural heritage, provenance and
identity, a cultural strategy could address funding streams to support
the articulation of these themes within local communities. Such
funding would need to balance the immediate needs of supporting
the development of a programme of events against the longer-term
need to develop the capacity within communities to sustain such
programmes. Of course any funding would also need to be balanced
against the requirement to have a broad range of the cultural sector
(art, crafts, dance, music, film and theatre) present and supported
within the region.
Catherine Ross
14
Resonating Universes, sound festival 2010 by Erdem Helvacioglu. Şirin Pancaroğlu (harpist) and Erdem Helvacioglu (electronics)
15
Section 3: Leadership, facilitation and engagement
One theme that has emerged from discussions with a variety of stakeholders is the issue of leadership, and the difference between this and facilitation. This was a key finding within the EKOS report, which identified that ‘for the North East there is a need to develop real leadership for the sector and to articulate some kind of vision for its future. These are both lacking at present… Few of the consultees saw obvious leadership coming from the sector itself, nor from the civic partners. Indeed, leadership may only emerge from an informed and inclusive debate about the future for the creative and cultural sector in the region.’
For whatever historical reasons, it is clear that there is a missed
opportunity arising from a disconnect between large parts of
the cultural and business sectors. As mentioned earlier in this
report, organisations that connect cultural producers and business
communities together exist in Calgary and Houston. If replicated in
this region, such an organisation could be a catalyst for developing
greater understanding between these sectors, and a shared vision of
how cultural activity can enhance quality of life. Both parties will need
to understand the value of the artist and the creative practitioner and
the ability of their activities to raise a sense of ambition of production
and profile. Such a catalyst would need support from Arts and
Business Scotland, and could grow on the successes of networks such
as AB+.
This ambition is not just about elite cultural pursuits. The scope of
our vision should be broad enough to encompass excellence and
international prowess as well as inclusive, local, indeed popular and
traditional grass roots activities, in order to reach a wide range of
audiences, encouraging participation at all levels.
This partnership between the cultural and business sectors will need
to consider how it evaluates the impact of the activities. Very often
cultural organisations find themselves on a treadmill of applying for
grants followed by delivering the activities associated with those
grants and then applying for new grants. This cycle very often does
not leave room for evaluation and reflection. At a regional level,
there is an opportunity to articulate how cultural activity achieves the
visions set out by our local authorities through the Single Outcome
Agreement process.
This report has argued strongly for a regional narrative and associated
vision led by a confident cultural and business sector working together
to enhance the region’s quality of life and attractiveness, both as a
place to come to live and work in and as a tourist destination.
The EKOS report also concluded:
‘Views on the extent to which the CCI are valued and
supported at a civic level were particularly mixed. While
virtually all stakeholders identified a lack of engagement
between the cultural and business communities, there was
also criticism of what some perceived as a lack of Council
support. This, it should be noted, is in spite of Aberdeen City
Council’s reasonably substantial level of investment (relative
to some authorities). Of course, more recent cuts in Council
budgets, particularly in Aberdeenshire and Moray, will
certainly have contributed to a feeling that the sector is not
well enough supported. Some also felt that the local press is
less than supportive of culture in the region, and provides very
little positive coverage.’
The local councils clearly have important leadership roles: they are
significant funders of cultural activities and bring a vital concern
for democratic participation and enfranchisement of the arts within
the region. Yet precisely because this report argues for a regional
approach to articulating the distinct culture of the region, the councils
individually are not best placed to provide leadership. Equally
within councils, culture often sits uneasily alongside other functions
– different councils at different times have placed the provision of
cultural strategy within different departments. Is culture an education
issue or an economic development issue? In many respects this misses
the point: cultural provision, just as with place-making, touches all
aspects of a local authority’s provision.
National organisations also have legitimate interests as leaders in
terms of their statutory obligations. In many cases, however, these
organisations (based as they often are in the Central Belt) are seen
by many within the region as distant and remote. Possibly north-east
reticence in boasting about its achievements compounds this distance,
meaning that in many cases these national organisations do not appear
to understand fully the nature of the region’s cultural identity, assets,
organisations or outputs. Organisations such as Creative Scotland,
but also Historic Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage as well as the
Lottery Funders, should consider their engagement with the region’s
cultural organisations. In doing so they may wish to consider how
their programmes of activity support and develop a regional narrative
and vision for cultural identity and expression. Just as some national
organisations have regional offices across Scotland, Creative Scotland
may want to consider the establishment of a permanent base within
the North-East of Scotland.
One important element to emphasise is the emergence of a strong
and independent cultural sector within the region. Historically in many
parts of Scotland, cultural infrastructure and to some extent financial
support has been provided by local authorities. Public sector reforms
have in recent decades led to an increase in provision by independent
cultural and artistic organisations rather than council-run services. This
has also led to a transfer of assets to community interest groups and
the establishment of private companies to run facilities. The region
could explore these devices to a greater extent, particularly given
the strong voluntary and community-based organisations that exist
within the region. Where this approach is developed, the councils
should consider whether their influence is best exerted through
contracts and service level agreements or through the pressure of
elected councillors sitting on boards. In order to create a strong and
independent cultural sector, which in turn will create a greater cultural
vibrancy, we believe councils are better equipped to influence through
funding as opposed to membership of boards. Appropriate leadership
and facilitation should enable the region’s cultural activity to develop a
national profile. This will involve first recognising and then building on
where we have particular strengths, for example: new music, dance,
design, fashion and textiles, film and TV, and visual arts. It might also
involve attracting an existing national organisation to choose to locate
within Scotland’s third largest city.
All of the foregoing suggests that leadership of any cultural enhancements
will be drawn from a wide coalition where leadership is shared between
the public and private sectors as well as the cultural sector.
There are many such models of collaboration working. Indeed two
examples exist within two other global oil and gas cities: Calgary and
Houston. The Arts and Business Council is an essential element of the
Houston Arts Alliance and is established to ‘increase and elevate the
relationships between non-profit arts organisations and the business
community by offering programs and services focused on leadership
and volunteerism’.
Aberdeen City has recently developed its City Vision for 2022,
and in light of this the cultural sector should consider how it can
assist the city to achieve:
• A tangible sense of pride and passion in Aberdeen
• A strong civic ethos
• A number of truly iconic events and projects
• A people with a strong, outward-looking view of the world
• A people with a strong sense of their traditional
north-east identity
• A strong sense of independence, resilience, confidence, self-
esteem and aspiration, coming from all our communities
• A city centre which is a vibrant hub of cultural activity
• A cultural renaissance, which has led to the city’s presence
in the circuit of major popular, modern and classical
cultural events
Aberdeenshire Council has undertaken a similar exercise that
aims to create a vision for Aberdeenshire in 2050. In the light of
this, cultural organisations may want to consider how they can
contribute to the following outcomes:
• A community that is dynamic, culturally diverse and active in
their local towns and villages
• People and communities preserving the best of our
historical heritage
• Exploring and adopting new cultural approaches and
ways of life
• People realise that the protection of our planet’s resources is
critical to our social, cultural and economic progress
• Social inequalities are narrowed providing opportunities
from all backgrounds to break down divisions and encourage
social wellbeing
• Towns and villages become adaptable to social changes and
that are responsive and timely
Resonating Universes, sound festival 2010 by Erdem Helvacioglu. Şirin Pancaroğlu (harpist) and Erdem Helvacioglu (electronics)
16
Section 4: Encouraging graduate and practitioner retention, and contribution to the economy
One of the most significant issues which cultural practitioners and organisations raise concerning the region is that an economically successful region can make it difficult for people to be able to afford to live here. The cultural and creative sectors abound with anecdotal information on the effect of the cost of living on individual practitioners. This is also acknowledged by EKOS in their recent report, which states that ‘high costs and lack of regular work opportunities contribute to the region’s difficulties in retaining creative talent and while there is a reportedly strong creative services sector focussed on the energy industry, this has a low level of public visibility. As a result Aberdeen is notable in that it is the only one of Scotland’s four major cities whose identity is not culturally derived.’
This appears to be most acutely felt at the early stages of the careers of creative and cultural practitioners, from graduation to establishment in practice. There is evidence that there is a significant loss of graduates from the cultural and creative industries sectors, either to other cities and regions such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and even London, in order to establish an early career, or to employment in the more lucrative oil and gas sector. Significant numbers of graduates leave the city to establish their practice in the Central Belt, often referring to the high cost of living or the lack of cultural vibrancy as the reasons. Even individual practitioners at the outset of their careers often leave after two or three years as they can feel cut off from peer communities of support. However, once established, many practitioners benefit from the economic wealth of the region through selling their works and having pieces commissioned.
Of course this is not an issue of affordability alone: London is even more expensive to live in but has no shortage of practitioners established there. The difference though is to be found within the greater cultural vibrancy
of London when compared with Aberdeen. This does, however, point to the fact that graduate and practitioner retention is not just a matter of providing more affordable options for graduates and practitioners but also of
creating a more vibrant culture, which makes it worthwhile for graduates and practitioners to stay in the region.
There are many solutions that could be investigated to address issues of graduate and practitioner retention. Many of these suggested solutions are not novel. Nevertheless, given the cost of living within the region when
compared with the salary ranges of cultural practitioners, it is suggested that the region needs to consider a range of initiatives acting in concert.
Develop more incubator space for recent
graduates.
The opportunities that are provided by 17 in Belmont Street and the
WASP studios are welcomed. Consideration should be given to how
other spaces can be utilised to provide practitioners with the support
they require to grow their practice. Such spaces and collectives are
an essential part of developing a vibrant cultural fringe of activity. The
universities have responsibilities to ensure that emergent collectives are
supported to establish themselves in Aberdeen and that their students
are actively contributing to and engaging with a cultural fringe.
Developing regional creative spin-outs.
The notion of encouraging creative spin outs from the oil and gas
sector should also be considered as there is evidence that current,
high value and now international media companies such as AVC and
Tern Television have developed from small, niche start-ups.
Development of a range of programmes of
opportunities for recent graduates.
If the universities, cultural organisations and councils work together
it may be possible to create a range of opportunities that allow recent
graduates to stay within the region, develop their skills base further
so they can build their own viable practice and make a contribution
to the cultural organisations active within the region. This might
include early career development programmes or the support and
nurturing of collectives.
Provision of dedicated accommodation for
cultural practitioners.
There are a number of examples of provision of cheap accommodation
for cultural practitioners which the region might consider, and
which could include low cost production environments and support
infrastructure, and potentially even low cost housing. This raises
the notion of redefining cultural workers as a ‘key workforce’ and
thus entitled to subsidy. Within Edinburgh, the council has recently
re-purposed an empty tower block for artist studios on the Easter
Road, which has also allowed sharing of skills and resources between
practitioners. In Stavanger the theatre has purchased its own
accommodation to house visiting artists and performers.
Areas of the city and rural communities are in
need of regeneration.
While the region as a whole is economically wealthy, there are a
number of areas – both within the city and in rural communities –
which are economically disadvantaged and in need of regeneration.
Whilst the region as a whole may have little need of the regenerative
effect of investment in cultural and creative industries, there may be
individual neighbourhoods where such interventions may produce
significant economic benefits to specific communities. This model
has been successfully employed in both London, with the Whirled
Art Studios, the Effort Collective and Brixton East, to name but a
few, and in Toronto through a strategic development of areas in
need of regeneration by providing affordable studio and living
accommodation, which has provided an ongoing and spreading
regeneration effect in growing aspects of these deprived areas.
Regional weighting in national funding bids.
The national funding organisations should recognise the greater costs
of living within this region by incorporating a cost-of-living weighting
for practitioners’ costs within their funding streams. It should be
acknowledged that Creative Scotland has recently honoured this
notion within a recent grant awarded to Aberdeen Performing Arts,
but this report recommends that this should become a standard
provision within all funding contexts.
Encouraging consumption of high-quality
regional production.
One of the ways in which graduates and professionals in the early
stages of their careers will be helped to stay in the region is through
increased audiences and markets for high-quality regional production.
The popularity of events such as the annual degree show of RGU’s
Gray’s School of Art as well as Tea Cosy, Glasshouse, and A Play a Pie
and a Pint could provide models for how to engage larger numbers
of individuals with regional production. The region has a substantial
number of high-wealth individuals who can support a local, high-
quality boutique design and craft sector, for example in luxury textile
products, but it is difficult for young graduates to break into high-end
production. It is clear that this market also goes beyond the region and
into national and international contexts through luxury brands and
luxury outlets such as Harrods, Selfridges and Libertys.
It is quite clear that no single proposal will solve the problem
of retention of the region’s cultural and creative graduates and
practitioners. Rather the region requires a range of responses that
collectively address these issues. In doing so it is clear that a range of
organisations will have to work together, including the college and
universities as well as the local authorities and cultural organisations.
Many aspects of what is suggested in these recommendations are
essentially subsidies, but it should not be overlooked that the outcomes
and impacts of such subsidies, as discussed within the previous
sections, contribute to building a strong, vibrant regional sector, and
thus a strong vibrant, attractive, renowned and resilient region.
17
18
Simon Ward
19
Section 5: Developing sustainable funding
In the previous section of this report we highlighted one of the disadvantages of living in a successful economic region: the high cost of living deters many graduates from pursuing a career within the region, thus limiting high-quality regional cultural production. One of the most significant benefits of the successful economy is that it opens up opportunities for the funding of the arts and cultural production.
This report recognises that funding from the private sector can take different forms. Some funding will be primarily philanthropic in intent; some will be in the form of sponsorship; and some will come through programmes of corporate social responsibility. Of course in many cases support from the private sector will be in-kind support rather than cash: for example, offering support and advice or manpower in the form of volunteers.
Despite this, cultural funding within the region appears
disproportionately dominated by the local authorities when compared
with other regions in Scotland. The sector also needs to become
better at applying for and being successful in receiving funding from
national organisations, several of which recognise that they are not
funding this region as well as they are funding other regions. These
organisations and some corporate companies suggest that they are
not receiving proposals which are sufficiently ambitious or large-scale
enough to meet their needs or interests.
It is therefore suggested that in the first instance additional support to
cultural practitioners and organisations based in the region is required
to support the development of proposals which are likely to receive
significant support from national organisations or corporate entities.
Earlier in this report we have discussed the benefits of the cultural and
business sectors working more closely together to develop a shared
vision. We believe that this dialogue has the potential to unlock and
leverage additional funding from the private sector. This will only
occur if both sectors can clearly understand and articulate the power
of cultural activities to achieve desired social and economic benefits.
It is suggested that the private sector and large cultural organisations
explore the establishment of a North East Scotland Cultural Trust that
would seek funding from the private sector that can be distributed to
a range of cultural practitioners and organisations. We anticipate that
the Trust could act as a powerful partnership between the region’s
private sector and cultural providers. This partnership would go much
deeper than merely a funding mechanism but rather contribute to
and shape the articulation of the region’s narrative and so aid talent
attraction and retention. The Trust would be responsible for setting
the priorities aligned to the agreed cultural narrative and vision of the
region. This would be undertaken by a board that would draw upon
a range of cultural and business expertise. We anticipate that the
membership of the board would largely be drawn from the region,
but recognise that in order to achieve an ambitious vision focused
on excellence, an international dimension and perspective would be
necessary. Having established its priorities the Trust would then seek
both donations and applications for grants.
Finally, if it is recognised that the cultural outputs and production
of the region have a value for the quality of life of residents and in
developing leisure tourism to the region, then there may be other
mechanisms for investing in the region’s culture. Houston have
developed a bedroom tax, revenues from which are directed to
funds designed and developed to enhance the cultural provision of
the city. These funds are widely credited by the hospitality sector
to have led to an increase in leisure tourism and hotel bedroom
occupancy. Toronto has developed a billboard tax which has had
the dual benefit of providing a cultural fund as well as reducing the
number of unsightly billboards in the city. Clearly within Scotland
both of these mechanisms are not within the local authorities’ gift but
there may be inventive voluntary levies that can be developed to aid
the development of the region’s cultural provision in a manner which
benefits wider elements of the private sector. One such example may
be the proposed ‘Tourism and Place Promotion for Business’ Business
Improvement District that is being developed by Visit Aberdeen which
is designed to provide significant funding to aid in the position of the
region as both a place to live and visit.
20
Summary of recommendations
This report has pointed out that the region has many opportunities to capture its cultural heritage and identity and express it through a cultural economy that can enrich the quality of life of the region, bring communities together and make the North-East of Scotland a more attractive place to potential workers and visitors alike.
We see a region with many opportunities to articulate, develop and celebrate a strong cultural offering which has national and even international renown. This will be achieved by recognising and building upon the many ‘pots of gold’ the region already possesses. It already has a strong cultural infrastructure which will nourish and sustain our talent, a significant and distinct cultural heritage which will stimulate our cultural offering, and individuals and organisations who have the desire to contribute to the region’s sense of place and outward attractiveness through the cultural economy. In this regard the basic building blocks are all in place, what is required now is the development of a coherent vision that a range of individuals and organisations can rally around and contribute to.
Capitalising on the value of a strong
cultural offering
1. The region should develop a clear cultural narrative: the
one provided within section two of this paper is offered as
a starting point. This narrative would sit above the different
cultural strategies of the local authorities but would inform
them and provide a particular context for the articulation,
development of and support for the cultural provision of the
region. Funding of cultural strategies should be aligned to this
regional cultural narrative while recognising the need to fund
a broad range of artistic forms. The cultural narrative of the
region should inform and support ambition of cultural
expression within the region.
2. The development and provision of cultural activities should
be seen as an important factor in the quality of life of those
living and visiting the region. Culture can and should play an
important role in retaining people in the region (whether
graduates or individuals at later stages of their career) and
attracting talent into the region. Likewise cultural activity
should be seen as a key catalyst for bringing host and
incoming communities harmoniously together. There is more
that can be done to promote the cultural activities within the
region on official portals.
3. There is a role for local media outlets to be more prominent in
their promotion and celebration of the range of high quality
cultural activities the region plays host to.
4. In order to stimulate growth in high-quality regional artistic
production, a range of options should be considered to retain
graduate and early career cultural practitioners within the
region and within the cultural and creative industries sectors,
through some of the mechanisms described in section four of
this report.
Developing a cultural economy
5. Consideration should be given to the development of a
regional forum that combines arts and business and goes
beyond local authority boundaries to create greater
understanding of each sector’s values and the importance
of cultural activity as a key determinate in the quality of life of
the region. This forum might be well placed both to consider
how the region’s cultural activities can be more coherently
promoted and how to develop the desired cultural activity,
aligned to local authority single outcome agreements.
6. Models such as the local business improvement districts and
the projected Tourism Business Improvement District might
be used as vehicles to support cultural activity aligned to the
cultural narrative of the region and increasing the vibrancy of
the region.
7. Consideration should be given to the formation of a North
East Scotland Cultural Trust that would channel philanthropic
funding towards a vision of cultural activity aligned to the
regional cultural narrative and ambitions developed by the
cultural sector and the business community.
Key elements of support required
8. Local authorities have important roles as the facilitators – and
in many cases funders – of cultural activity. Nevertheless there
is more that can be done to explore the transfer of assets in
some areas to the strong independent cultural sector within
the region.
9. Support should be provided to cultural organisations
and practitioners to develop significant proposals of ambition
to attract a greater proportion of funding from national
sources and to leverage a greater volume of support from the
private sector through sponsorship and corporate social
responsibility funds.
10. National organisations should consider how they can establish
themselves within the North-East of Scotland in a manner in
which they become part of the cultural infrastructure of the
region rather than visitors or guests. This might involve
establishing a regional office of Creative Scotland within the
region. Equally, consideration may be given to locating a
national company to the region, which could be achieved
through relocation of an existing company, or the region
hosting a new national company, or developing a home
grown organisation. There may be opportunities to partner
with a national organisation (UK-based or Scottish) to host an
outpost of their collection or programme.
We recognise that the achievement of a vision of a culturally vibrant
region, which has a national and international renown will require
a large number of individuals and organisations to work together
to achieve shared ambitions. We hope that this reports adds to the
building blocks by providing the first draft of a cultural narrative
and suggestions with regard to the key areas where actions are
required first around business partnerships, funding aspirations and
mechanisms to support the retention of graduate and early career
creative and cultural professionals.
At the start of this report we articulated a vision
of the new north where the hallmarks were:
A place where cultural graduates see opportunities to pursue and
develop a rewarding career without having to leave for another place
because our region has –
• A sense of being at the centre of things, not at the periphery
or on the edge of something more exciting because the
region’s cultural producers have –
• A range of places, activities, programmes and projects that
nurture creative artists and performers who have stepped on
to an international stage who have articulated –
• A coherent narrative of what the North-East of Scotland is and
what it has to offer the world in its own right stimulating
interest in the region and creating –
• A place where individuals from outside the region want to
come, whether for work, study, retirement or in their leisure
time.
As a university we are excited and determined to play our role alongside others in creating our new north. We hope you are too.
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Ade Adesina
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Callum Kellie
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